1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector and a method of making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A receptacle connector having a rectangular housing with a receiving cavity for receiving a mating plug connector so that the diagonally extending contact section is brought into spring contact with the terminal of the plug connector is well known.
FIG. 9 shows an example of such a receptacle connector disclosed in Japanese patent application Kokai No. 8-64288. This connector 50 comprises a shield case 51, a housing 52 having a receiving cavity 53 into which a mating plug connector (not shown) is inserted from above. A plurality of terminals 54 are provided in the connector 50 such that the contact sections 54A extend diagonally within the receiving cavity 53. A holding block 55 is provided in the connector 50 to hold the middle section of the terminals 54 such that the connection sections 54B project from the housing 52. As shown in FIG. 10, the holding block 55 is made separately from the housing 52 but molded integrally with the terminals 54, followed by forming the contact sections 54A by bending. The completed holding block 55 is inserted into the housing 52.
When the mating plug connector is inserted into the receiving cavity 53, the contact sections 54A are brought into spring contact with the terminal of the plug connector.
In the above connector, however, the housing 52 and the holding block 55 are molded separately, the terminals must be formed by bending prior to insertion of the holding block 55 into the housing 52 so that the manufacturing process is complicated, resulting in the increased manufacturing cost. Prior to the assembly, the number of parts is too many to manage easily.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an electrical connector capable of being made by a simple process at a low cost and a method of making the connector.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising a housing having a receiving cavity for receiving a mating connector; a plurality of terminals arranged in the housing at predetermined intervals; each of the terminals made by bending a metal strip so as to provide a middle section supported by the housing, a flexible contact section extending diagonally into the receiving cavity, and a connection section projecting from the housing; the middle sections being supported by the housing by integral molding; and the receiving cavity being made sufficiently large to bend the contact sections in the receiving cavity.
According to the invention, the middle sections of the terminals are supported by the housing by the integral molding, and the receiving cavity is sufficiently large to bend an end of each of the terminals into the receiving cavity.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of making the electrical connector, which comprises the steps of providing a plurality of terminals/carrier materials in which the terminals are connected at opposite ends by the carriers; integrally molding the housing and the terminal/carrier materials; cutting off the carrier to provide the individual terminals; and bending an end of each of the individual terminals into the receiving cavity.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the housing is provided with a through-hole at a position corresponding to the middle sections of the terminals such that a holding mold supports the terminals in the through-hole to thereby keep the precise positions of the terminals.
According to another embodiment, each of the terminals is provided with a lateral projection within the through-hole so that the holding mold supports the extended sections including the lateral projection for secured holding.
The terminals are arranged in a plurality of tiers such that the lateral projections are offset in different tires so that it is possible to make an integral molding despite the multiple tier arrangement of the terminals.